BACKGROUND ~O~ The discovery of JMW Turner's oil on canvas exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793 ~O~ BACKGROUND
Chronology of Events Leading Up To the Exhibition of 'The 1793 Hotwells Oil' and its Destination Thereafter
with added background in green, additional notes and indefinite possibilities in [light brown]

This chronology is illustrative. Is is based on a balance of probabilities having regard to the evidence collected.

23 April 1775 Turner birth
23 April 1789 Turner 14th birthday

March 1790 Turner delivered his first exhibit to the RA Exhibition:(d) 644 View Of The Archbishop's Palace, Lambeth
23 April 1790 Turner 15th birthday

March 1791 Turner delivered to the RA Exhibition: 'King John's palace, Eltham' No. 494
March 1791 Turner delivered to the RA Exhibition: 'Sweakley, near Uxbridge, the seat of the Rev. Mr. Clarke' No. 560
23 April 1791 Turner 16th birthday

1791 Turner Visited the Narraways in Bristol. At the Narraways:
• He visited Malmesbury
  • resulted in the 1792 exhibit
• Turner sketched D00074 in the 'Bristol and Malmesbury Sketchbook'
• He painted the little Self Portrait; this was left with the Narraways.
• He painted the watercolour-drawing now in Courtauld as 'The Avon Gorge at Bristol with the Old Hot Wells House' D.2007.DS.42
  • this was left with the Narraways.
• He prepared the same scene as an exhibition piece (He took this back to London)

1791 Turner returned to London
1791 (a) Turner painted two small watercolours based on his visit to Bristol D00389 and D00391 (must pre-date the oil 'The Rising Squall' but must post-date D00074)
1791 (c) Turner painted (or finished if it was started at the Narraways) Malmesbury Abbey watercolour (based on his visit to Bristol) for 1792 RA exhibition (436)
1791 Turner finished (or nearly finished) the watercolour (started at the Narraways) of 'View on the river Avon, near St. Vincent's rock, Bristol' which would become RA 1793 exhibit 323 (But may have been intended for 1792 had there been no Pantheon fire)
1792: 14 January 1792 Pantheon fire. Turner sketched and painted his watercolour D00121 over the next few days or weeks
March 1792 Turner delivered to the RA Exhibition: 'Malmesbury Abbey' No. 436
March 1792 Turner delivered to the RA Exhibition: 'The Pantheon, the morning after the fire', D00121, No. 472
23 April 1792 Turner 17th birthday

1792 Tour of Kent, the 'six weeks tour' possibly accompanied by E. Bell.
• Outward Journey
• It is possible, likely even, that Turner headed for Canterbury making short visits to Nixon at Foots Cray and/or Douglas at Rochester on the way and possibly going on to Margate. There is no evidence of oil painting at Canterbury which suggests that the canvas was purchased on his return journey and that the visits to Douglas and Nixon were of longer duration. The whole tour was said to have been for six weeks.
• Foots Cray on the outward journey (16 miles from Covent Garden)
• Rochester on the outward journey (12 miles from Foots Cray)
• Canterbury on the outward journey (30 miles from Rochester)
• There is no clear indication as to whether Turner sketched the material for the two 'St. Augustine's Gate' watercolour-drawings on the outward or return journey. There is also no clear indication that he went on to Margate. However, on balance, it is probably better to assume that he did - he had connections there.
• There is no indication as to the timing of the two 'finished' 'St. Augustine's Gate' watercolour-drawings. They may have been finished in Margate, Canterbury or in Rochester, or even in London, but at Rochester he bought canvas and spent days working on the oil (as stated in the Nephew's Letter) so it is likely that the completion of the two 'St. Augustine's Gate' watercolour-drawings pre-dated the canvas purchase
• Margate; The Tour's Destination? (14 miles from Canterbury)
• There is some fact finding to do here. The people he knew; Any sketching he did (in this year 1792); Any evidence of E. Bell's presence; Any evidence of the leaving of Yale B1975.4.1764 'Old Gate Of Canterbury' in Margate.
• The Return Journey
• If Turner had finished his Canterbury sketching on the outward journey then the return stay could have been of short duration but that would seem to be conterintuitive - looking at the canvas situation, that must be on the return, which would suggest that the outbound stops were short and that the work was done on the return journey. This further suggests that the location of the first owner of the 'Old Gate Of Canterbury' would be Canterbury, Rochester or Foots Cray (viz: not Margate).
• Canterbury on the return journey
• The most likely time of drawing for the two St. Augustine's Gate' watercolours.
• .Rochester & Rev. Douglas on the Return Journey:
• This then is the point where he would complete the two 'St. Augustine's Gate' watercolour-drawings if he had not already done so in Canterbury. One the larger exhibition exhibit and the other, smaller, version respectively, ''Gate of St. Augustine's Monastery, Canterbury' and 'Old Gate of Canterbury''. If he followed the same procedure as the previous year he would leave the smaller version with Rev. Douglas but there is no evidence to suggest that he actually did so.
• Then he bought canvas (accompanied by Margaret Martha, Rev. Douglas' daughter).
• he painted an oil on canvas 'Rochester Castle and the Adjacent Grounds', and gave it to the Douglas family*[1]
• he started another oil on canvas ...and moved on...
• Foots Cray and Rev. Robert Nixon on the Return Journey:
• Turner finished the oil on canvas he started at Rochester, 'Rochester Castle with Fishermen Drawing Boats Ashore In A Gale of Wind'
• this painting was given to Rev. Robert Nixon*[1]

1792 Returned to London from Kent
• The scenario seems to be that he returned with some unused canvas, a portfolio of Canterbury sketches and 'Gate of St. Augustine's Monastery, Canterbury' finished or nearly finished for the 1793 Exhibition which would become RA 1793 exhibit 316. Already in the studio there was finished or nearly finished Bristol Watercolour, 'View on the river Avon, near St. Vincent's rock, Bristol'. This was also the time that he moved from the barber's shop to Hand Court.

1792 [suggestions of 'practice' oils]
• These are only suggestions. There was some Rochester canvas possibly enough for two approx 15" x 20" pictures remaining. [Turner did submit an oil on canvas for the 1793 exhibition. He also painted on canvas his self portrait (now (overpainted?/ restored?) in the Indianapolis) all of which is firm evidence of remaining canvas.]
• It follows that preliminary oil work must have been on paper or panel.
• Here an attempt is made to identify oils on panel which may relate to this short period before 'The Rising Squall' was painted.

1792 He painted in oil a near copy of his Self Portrait at the Narraways
1792 In late 1792 Turner painted an oil on canvas which would become RA 1793 exhibit 263
March 1793 Turner delivered to the RA Exhibition: An oil on canvas No. 263 which Cunningham called 'Rising Squall over St. Vincent's Rocks at Bristol'.
March 1793 Turner delivered to the RA Exhibition: A watercolour No. 316 which he (Turner) called 'Gate of St. Augustine's monastery, Canterbury'
March 1793 Turner delivered to the RA Exhibition: A watercolour No. 323 which (shown herein sup.) was 'View on the river Avon, near St. Vincent's rock, Bristol'
April 1793 Turner 18th birthday

1793 Following the exhibition Turner collected his exhibits which he returned to his studio
1793 (summer) Another vistit to Kent - The tour which resulted in the 1794 Rochester engraving
1793 Turner compiled work, probably sketches, for the 1794 engraving of Rochester.
. . . . . The 1793 exhibit which Cunningham called 'Rising Squall over St. Vincent's Rocks at Bristol' was probably delivered to the Rev. Robert Nixon
. . . . . at Foots Cray during this tour.*[2] The inference of the extract in the footnote is that Nixon commissioned the work but it could have been a gift.
1793 After Foots Cray Turner probably visited the Douglas family again (where he prepared work for the Rochester engraving). He had left an oil on canvas ('Rochester Castle and the Adjacent Grounds') on his earlier visit and it is possible that he now brought the Self Portrait canvas.
1793 During this tour there appear to be additional Canterbury sketches.
1793 At the end of this Kent Tour Turner returned to London
1793 (later) Turner painted 'A Watermill' oil on paper based on a watermill near the west gate, Canterbury.

Notes on the chronology:

(a) 1791 or 1792. The order of D00389 and D00391 is not clear but they both include the dome rock.
(b) The chronology will be expanded in later notes.
(c) Plans for Turner's 1792 exhibits were interrupted by the Pantheon fire.
(d) Exhibit entries are shown in blue.
(d) 'Background' entries are shown in green.

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*[1] There is no record of why he gave these pictures away. The reason is probably that they were too wet to transport. Turner was accustomed to watercolours drying overnight whereas the oils would need a matter of weeks even if painted thinly. It is more than likely that they were just 'left' with the respective recipients rather than being regarded as 'gifts'. Although the assumption has been that it was bequeathed by the Rev. Douglas upon his death, the Douglas picture may have simply remained with Margaret from the time Turner painted it.

*[2]

Further provenance is available for 'The Country Waggon, Snowdon - Early Morning' in Armstrong as 'Snowdon: Waggoners - Early Morning' where there is a description of the picture. In 1891 this picture passed to Sir W Drake. Armstrong does not mention the Hotwells picture.

*[2] (cont) The circumstances of the 1864 sales:

The Art Journal and Armstrong above leave no doubt that Nixon owned 'Hotwells' and 'The Country Waggon'. There was, however, an earlier 1864 sale at which three pictures were offered for sale by 'Huskisson'. This sale was recorded in Redford and confirmed by e-mail from Christies.
Huskisson appears to have offered the 'Hotwells' picture clearly described as the 1793 RA exhibit. This picture belonged to Nixon so it is possible that Nixon owned the other two, 'Battle of the Nile' and 'Remains of Waltham Abbey'.